Method and means for stowing cargo in vessels



Nov. 25, 1952 R. M. OTTER METHOD AND MEANS FOR STOWING CARGO IN VESSELS 9 sheets-sheet 1 Filed April 13, 1949 mq mo um INVENTOR.

" RICHARD M, OTTER BY I i1 i: ll IQ llllllfilllll A TTO/ZNEY Nov. 25, 1952 R. M. OTTER 2,619,056

METHOD AND MEANS FOR STOWING CARGO IN VESSELS Filed April 13, 1949 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 T RICHARD M.OTTER B BY H I L A TTCPNEY Nov. 25, 1952 R. M. OTTER METHOD AND MEANS FOR STOWING czuaeo IN VESSELS Filed April 13. 1949 9 Sheets-Sheet 3 S RICHARD M.OTTEIZ A TTOE/VE') Nov. 25, 1952 R. M. OTTER METHOD AND MEANS FOR sTowrNc CARGO IN VESSELS 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 13, 1949 INVENTOR. RICHARD M. OTTER ATTORNEY Nov. 25, 1952 R. M. OTTER 2,619,066

METHOD AND MEANS FOR STOWING CARGO IN VESSELS Filed April 13. 1949 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. RI CHAIZD M. OTTER A TTOENEY R. M. OTTER METHOD AND MEANS FOR STOWING CARGO IN VESSELS Nov. 25, 1952 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed April 13, 1949 R E Y E w N O P M m M% A H I m/ E Nov. 25, 1952 R. M. OTTER 2,619,066

METHOD AND MEANS FOR STOWING CARGO IN VESSELS Filed April 13. 1949 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 Ti q .11.

' INVENTOR. l RICHARD M.OTTEI2 A TTOENEY Nov. 25, 1952 R. M. OTTER METHOD AND MEANS FOR STOWING CARGO IN VESSELS Filed April 13. 1949 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 I n a a n I u n 4 E E E E INVEN TOR. l2! (HA R D M. OTTER A TTO/QIVE') 2 mm lean W Nov. 25, 1952 R. M. OTTER 2,619,066

METHOD AND MEANS FOR STOWING CARGO IN VESSELS Filed April 13, 1949 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 INVENTOR. RI CHARD M. OTTE R A TTOQNEY Patented Nov. 25, 1952 METHOD AND MEANS FOR STOWING CARGO IN VESSELS Richard Marcus Otter, Greenwich, Conn., as-

signor to American Union Transport, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 13, 1949, Serial No. 87,161

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a method and structure useful in the stowage of cargo units in the hold of a cargo Ship. The invention is of particular utility in connection with the transportation of heavy and. bulky units such as locomotives and tenders, railway vehicles of all types, busses, oil cracking towers, kilns, structural sections of bridges and buildings, barges and boats of various types, and tunnel sections.

The invention is especially useful in stowing heavy and bulky cargo units in a ship having an empty hold, i. e. a hold which is free of intermediate decking or other permanent structure between the bottom of the hold and the deck of the ship.

In the transportation of cargo by water it is highly important that the cargo fills the hold of the ship as compactly as possible and can be loaded and unloaded within short time with least labor.

The general object of the invention is to provide a method and arrangement for stowing cargo units in two or more tiers of units with the units of each tier stowed with minimum lateral spacing and with the two tiers stowed with minimum vertical clearance. In the case of some types of cargo, such as locomotives and other wheeled vehicles, with the stowing method of the invention the units of the upper and lower tiers may overlap. In the case of locomotives and locomotive tendors for example, the trucks or axles of the upper units may be positioned close to the top surface of the underlying units with the wheels projecting downwardly and in some cases even overlapping the upper portions of the lower units.

According to the method of the invention, two or more tiers of cargo units are stowed in the hold of a ship, particularly in-an empty hold of the kind previously described, by alternately positioning cargo units of a lower tier and members, such as uprights, of a supporting steel or wood structure for cargo units of an upper tier. After the cargo units of the lower tier are thus stowed, the supporting structure which may form a kind of open scafiold is completed, as by installing cross and longitudinal beams or girders. Thereafter the units of the upper tier are stowed upon the supporting structure to the effects previously indicated.

The supporting structure for an upper tier of cargo units according to the invention comprises parts or members such as "uprights and cross beams or girders which are adjustably and detachably secured together so that they may be easily and adjustably assembled and dissambled to fit different shapes at different levels of a hold in the same or other ship, and different sizes of cargo units to be stowed in the tiers of units. prefabricated members of a supporting struc-,

ture for an upper tier of units; some of these,

members are installed as the stowing of the lower tier of cargo units progresses, and the other members thereafter to complete the supporting structure and receive the upper tier of cargo units. The time of loading is reduced thereby to a minimum and the space of the.

hold utilized most efficiently.

The same supporting structure can be used repeatedly for loading cargoes of the same type and size, and because of the adjustability of the members forming the supporting structure, the latter can be used successively for stowing cargoes of different sizes and shapes.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which by way of exemplification Fig. 1 is a view of a cargo vessel partly broken away to reveal a portion of a hold in which cargo is stowed in accordance with the invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view of a lower tier of stowed cargo units and upright members of a steel supporting structure for an upper tier of units, Fig. 3 is a plan view similar to that shown in Fig, 2

but with the supporting structure completed and the upper tier units stowed thereon, Fig. 4 a cross sectional view of a somewhat different shape hold with cargo units stowed therein in similar manner as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and additional cargo units stowed in order to more completely fill the hold, Figs. 5 to 9 inclusive show details of a construction of the supporting structure for the cargo units, Fig. 7 being taken on the line 1---'! of Fig. 6, Fig. 8 being taken on the line B8 of Fig. 6, and Fig. 9 being taken on the line 99 of Fig. 5, Fig. 10 is a plan view taken on the line Ill-l0 in Fig. 11 of a hold.

showing cargo units stowed in accordance with the invention with an upper tier of units sup ported by a wooden supporting structure, Fig. 11 is a sectional side view of the hold and cargo units stowed therein as indicated in Fig. 10, Fig. 12 is a cross sectional view on line |2l2 in Fig. 10 of the hold and stowed cargo, Figs. 13 to 16 inclusive are detailed views of parts of thewooden supporting structure shown'in Figs.

10, 11 and 12, Fig. 15 being taken on v the line l5--l5 of Fig. 14 and Fig. 16 being taken on the More specifically, the invention provides 3 line IG-IG of Fig. 14, Fig. 17 is a side view of the lower portion of a wheeled vehicle to indicate how it may be supported, and Figs. 18 and 19 are views indicating how a heavy cargo unit such as a locomotive may be skidded into proper position in the ship hold.

Similar reference characters indicate like parts in the different figures of the drawings.

The side view of a cargo ship III is shown in Fig. 1 with a portion of one side of the hull broken away to reveal cargo units stowed in accordance with the invention in one of its holds I I. Other holds I2, I3 are indicated by broken lines. The particular cargo as shown in this instance includes in a lower tier a locomotive I4 stowed lengthwise of the ship, a second locomotive I5 stowed crosswise of the ship, and in an upper tier two locomotive tenders I6, II, supported on a steel supporting structure I8.

The plan view shown in Fig. 2 indicates the position of the locomotives M and I5 of Fig. 1 with two additional locomotives I9 and stowed longitudinally of the hold; these four locomotives form in this exemplification of the invention the lower tier of cargo units. Fig. 2 also shows a plurality of posts or upright members 2I spaced laterally to provide stowage place for the locomotives. In stowing the locomotives in the hold,

the first locomotive I5 is lowered through the hatch 22, Fig. 1, onto the bottom of the hold after which it is skidded into place crosswise of the hold close to the bulkhead 23. After loco,- motive I5 has thus been stowed, the adjacent upright members 2I are placed in position to form a portion of the supporting structure for a second or upper tier of cargo units to be stowed subsequently. A second locomotive I4 may now be lowered into the hold and skidded into the position shown lengthwise of the ship, after which the adjacent upright members 2| may be placed in position. The locomotive I9 may next be positioned with its adjacent uprights in a similar manner, after which a fourth locomotive 2 0 may be lowered into position in the hold. It is obvious that the two pairs of uprights 2I nearest the sides of the hold may be positioned either before or after adjacent locomotives I4, I9 have been stowed. Thus the locomotives and the prefabricated upright members of the supporting structure are alternately placed in their proper position. As each locomotive is positioned, it is preferable that it be properly braced and shackled to prevent any possibility of displacement while loading and during the subsequent voyage.

Fig. 3 shows a hold. II with the second tier of the cargo units in place and supported on .the completed supporting structure including the upright members 2I shown in Fig. 2 and a plurality of horizontal beamsor girders 24 resting on'the upright members 21 .to which they are detachably and adjustably secured. Each line of supporting beams 24 arranged crosswise of the hold is extended at each end by an adjustable member 25 and connected to the side of the ship to brace the supported cargo units against lateral displacement. The upright members 2I and supporting beams 24 are braced lengthwise of the hold by. bars or stringers 26; each line of bars or stringers 26 is connected to the side walls of the hold such as bulkheads 23 and 21 to brace the supporting beams 26 against lateral displacement. After thus completing the supporting structure, the'u-pper tier of cargounits such as locomotive tenders I6, H are lowered with their trucks resting on the supporting beams 24, the spacing of these beams being proportioned to position the beams directly under the trucks of the locomotive tenders with the wheels extending below the upper surface of the beams as indicated in Fig. 1. Of course, the units of the second or upper tier must also be properly braced and shackled to prevent accidental displacement.

In Fig. 4 there is disclosed a cross sectional view through a ship hold showing another arrangement of a steel supporting structure similar in principle to that already described but arranged to accommodate a different assemblage of cargo units. In this example of the invention the cargo units such as locomotives IA, I9 and 20 are arranged in a lower tier lengthwise of the ship and a locomotive I5 is arranged crosswise of the ship, this arrangement being similar to that shown in Figs. 2 and 3. A second tier of cargo units includes three locomotive tenders IB along the longitudinal center of the hold with the space beside these tenders each provided with short supporting beams 28 secured between one side wall of the hold and extensions 29 of the adjacent uprights. These short supporting beams 28 provide stowage spaces for smaller cargo units such as flat cars 30 and gondolas 3|. After the main supporting structure including cross beams 24, 25 has been completed, the cargo units 3| are positioned on the supporting beams 25, the extensions 29 and short beams 28 are then assembled and the small cargo units 30 are then positioned on the beams 28. Thereafter, the locomotive tenders I6 may be lowered into the hold onto the supporting beams.

It will be appreciated that the space in the hold is thus very efficiently utilised and that th r is very little unoccup ed space.

Figs. 5 to 9 inclusive show details of the steel supporting structure previously described. This structure includes hollow uprights 32 which may be welded or otherwise secured to a footplate 33 detachably screwed to a wooden flooring 34 under which may be a space 35 (Fig. 4) such as a fuel oil or other liquid tank. The positions of the uprights may thus be laterally adjusted. Inside the hollow upright 32, there is provided a telescoping structural steel post 36. This post 36 and the hollow uprights 32 are each provided with uniformly spaced bolt holes which permit the two parts to be adjustably bolted together by bolts 37. This permits easy adjustment of the height of the upright members ,2I (Fig. 2) formed by the uprights 32 and posts 36 and of the level of the supporting beams 24 to secure desired clearance between the two tiers of cargo; units. The adjustment of the spacing of the upper ends of the uprights 32, 35 is made possible by rows of uniformly spaced bolt holes 4'3 in the base 440i the supporting beams 24. As shown in Fig. 8, the outer ends of the supporting beams 24 are provided with hollow extensions 25 which are adjustably secured to the beams by bolts 38 to accommodate the lengths of the beams to holds of different widths andto difierent locations of different widths in the same hold. The outer ends of the extensions 25 are supported on T- shapedbrackets 39 welded to the frames 40 of the hull. U-shaped cleats 61 are welded to the under-surfaces of the extensions 25 with their flanges spanning the brackets 39 to prevent displacement of the cargo supporting structure. Steel girders or stringers 216 are bolted between plates III secured, :as by :welding to the post 36 of the uprights to space the upper ends of these uprights. The stringers 26 nearest the bulkheads 23 and ZI'are bolted between the plates 4| on the adjacent uprights and brackets 42 on the bulkheads. The lower ends of the uprights 32 may be adjustably spaced as desired by screwing the foot plates 33 in proper positions on the wooden floor of the hold. It is obvious now that the uprights 32, 36 may be adjusted laterally in any direction to accommodate different sizes and shapes of cargo units. Stringers or braces 26 are selected of proper length to brace the upper ends of the uprights in required space relation with respect to the bulkheads and to provide the required space for the cargo units of the lower tier.

Figs. 10 to 16 inclusive show an alternative construction of the supporting structure for an upper tier of cargo units, the main frame-work being constructed of wood instead of metal. This form of supporting structure includes wooden uprights 45 resting on sockets including blocks 46 and cleats 41 nailed to the blocks 45. The sockets may be secured by nails or otherwise to the wooden floor 34 of the hold in finally adjusted position. The base blocks 46 should be of sufiicient longitudinal dimension to span in any of their adjusted positions at least two of the ship frames 48. By the use of base blocks 45 of diiferent heights, the overall height of the uprights 45 can be conveniently adjusted. Each supporting beam 49 may be formed of overlapping longi tudinal sections to provide the required strength, and is detachably and adjustably secured to the uprights 45 by metal plates 50 bolted across the joints between the uprights and the supporting beams. Flanges on plates 54] are bolted to stringers or braces 52. The outer braces 52 are secured to the bulkheads 23 and 21, for instance, by bolting their ends to the metal angles 53 welded to the bulkheads. The outer ends of the supporting beams 49 are held on metal brackets such as T-shaped supports 39 welded between the ship frames, a U-shaped member Bl bolted to the undersurface of the supporting beam spanning the supports 39 to prevent displacement.

In stowing cargo units such as locomotives in the lower tier, first a locomotive 54 is lowered through the hatch 22 upon the bottom of the hold and skidded close to the bulk head 23. Thereafter, the adjacent base blocks 46 are secured in position and uprights 45 mounted thereon. Then locomotive 55 is lowered and skidded into the position shown in Figs. and 11; then locomotive 5'5 is lowered and skidded and secured in the position shown in Figs. 10 and 11, and locomotive 5'! is thereafter positioned in a similar manner. The uprights 45 and their base blocks 45 adjacent to locomotives 56 and 5'! are secured in position, and thereafter locomotives 58 and 59 successively lowered and secured in the positions shown in Figs. 10 and 11. Then the last uprights 45 and their base blocks 46 are secured in position close beside locomotives 58 and 59, and then the central locomotive 60 is lowered between them and secured in place. Now the supporting beams 49 are mounted on the uprights 45 in the manner already described. The stringers or cross braces 52 are then mounted between the uprights and between the latter and the bulkheads, and thereby the supporting structure for the upper tier of the cargo units is completed. Now the cargo units of the upper tier, such as locomotive tenders l6, H, are lowered of each tender resting on the upper surface 01' the supporting beams 49 and the wheels 6] projecting downwardly whereby valuable storage space is saved. The tenders are then skidded along the supporting beams into the final position where they are firmly secured in place. The wooden portions of this supporting structure can be designed and prefabricated to exact dimensions with minimum waste, and the final assembly in coordination with the progress of the loading is quickly accomplished in minimum time. After the lower tier of cargo units and uprights have been positioned in one hold, it may be convenient to install cargo units in another hold while the supporting structure for the upper tier is being completed in the first hold. Additional cargo units may of course be stowed on the deck of the ship.

Fig. 17 shows a manner of supporting a truck 62 on the supporting beams 49 with the wheels 6| on each side of the beam, as already described, and secured in position by blocks 63.

Figs. 18 and 19 show the wheels 64 of a locomotive on rails 65 mounted on skids 66 to be pulled into place with a winch.

The invention provides a highly efiicient method and means for stowing heavy and bulky cargo in two or more tiers within a hold of a ship with maximum utilisation of Space and consequent saving of shipping expense. The invention uses a supporting structure for an upper tier of cargo units which can be erected as loading progresses and disassembled during and coordinated with the discharge of the cargo, so that the loading and unloading operations proper are not appreciably interfered with. It should be clear that during unloading the cargo of the upper tier is discharged first, then the supporting beams detached and removed to clear the access to the cargo units of the lower tier, and then those units are removed alternately with disassembly of the uprights in inverse order from that followed during loading.

What I claim is:

1. A method of stowing cargo units in the hold of a ship, including the sequential steps of positioning a cargo unit on the floor of the hold, positioning an upright member of a supporting structure for cargo units of an upper tier close beside said first cargo unit, positioning a second cargo unit on the floor of the hold and then positioning a second upright member close beside said second cargo unit and repeating these steps until the floor of the hold is full, adjustably connecting supporting beams and braces between said upright members and between said upright members and the walls of the hold to complete said supporting structure, and stowing cargo units of an upper tier upon said supporting beams.

2. In a ship having a hold for the stowage of cargo units and a structure in said hold for supporting certain of the cargo units, the improvement in the supporting structure comprising a series of upright members supported on the floor of the hold, means for varying the lengths of said upright members to conform substantially to the height of the cargo units, a series of supporting beams fixed to and supported across the upper ends of said upright members and a series of braces secured to said upright members and the walls of the hold adjacent the upper ends of the upright members.

3. The improvement in the supporting structure as set forth in claim 2 which includes means 7 for varying the length or the sup orting beams Number to conform to the hold of the ship. 2,198,155 RICHARD MARGUS OT'IER, 2,2l2fi35 2, 19,4 1 7 REFERENCES CITED 5 2,415,975 The following references are of record in the 2,428,893 file of this patent: 2,440,306

V UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Number 929,139 Kirchner July 27, 1909 25,964 ,611,419 Copony Dec 21', 1926. 40,057

Name Date Fenland Apr. 23, 1949 Whittelsey ,2 May'ZO, 1,361, yStrO May 1943 Thompson V. Feb. 18, 19.47 Procissi ,Oct. 14, 1947 Sm t m- 27. 19% FOREIGN PATENTS C un Date Great Brit femec- 3. 1 0.

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